Call 9-1-1 in the event of a Police, Fire or Medical EMERGENCY. Do not call 9-1-1 to ask routine questions, seek information about traffic tickets, to get directions, or to ask for information about prisoners in jail. If you are in doubt about whether your situation is an emergency then play it safe and call 9-1-1, otherwise feel free to call our non-emergency number (972) 424-5678.

Your call will be answered, "Plano 9-1-1, what’s the address of the emergency?" This question will be followed with the phone number you are calling from and your name. The 9-1-1 operator will then say “Ok, tell me exactly what happened..” Please respond with what your emergency is; i.e. say you are reporting a fire, an accident, a burglary, an injury, or whatever the case may be. From there, let the Public Safety Communications Specialist ask the questions. They will also ask questions regarding your situation, such as the name and description of any other persons involved and other pertinent information. Please be patient. Help is on the way, even while you are talking with the person taking your call.

Calling 9-1-1 from MOST telephones is free. Cell phone companies typically do not charge minutes for calls made to 9-1-1 (which is why an old cell phone without service can still make a 9-1-1 call); and calls made from your home, businesses, and most pay-phones are free.

Don’t hang up, stay on the line! Everyone makes mistakes and there is no penalty for accidentally dialing 9-1-1. The Specialist who answers your call will want to verify your name, address and phone number; and make sure there really is no emergency. If you do hang up, you can be sure a Specialist will call you right back to confirm that you are safe. If no response is received on the attempt to call you back, the police will be dispatched.

In most cases, responders are already on the way. We will always ask the location of the emergency, phone number and your name for every call. Other questions are used to provide information to the police/fire personnel that are en route to your call location. It helps them to know what to look for or what equipment is needed.